ReGent  Utterances  on  State  Prohibition 

COMPILED  BY  THE 

NORTH  CAROLINA  ANTI-SALOON  LEAGUE. 


EX-GOVERNOR  JARVIS. 

A  reporter  of  The  Greenville  Reflector  sought  out  Gover- 
nor Jarvis  and  asked  him  this  question : 

"If  the  Legislature  -shall  be  called  together  in  special  ses- 
sion, do  you  think  it  wise  for  it  to  pass  a  general  Prohibition 
law  for  the  whole  State  ?"  The  Governor  answered  "Yes,r 
and  gives  his  reasons  as  follows : 

"While  it  is  true  that  no  law  is  worth  rnuch  unless  it  has 
a  strong,  healthy  sentiment  behind  it.  to  enforce  its  execution, 
it  is  likewise  true  that  when  that  public  sentiment  manifests 
itself  it  is  well  to  respond  to  it.  It  must  be  manifest  to  all 
who  take  note  of  passing  events  that  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  have  made  up  their  minds  to  try  Prohibition.  What- 
ever one  may  think  of  the  wisdom  of  Prohibition,  as  a  remedy 
for  the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic,  he  must  admit,  if  he  be  not 
blind,  that  the  people  are  determined  to  give  it  a  trial. 

"If  the  Legislature  shall  be  called  together  in  special  session, 
it  will  be  political  wisdom  to  pass  a  carefully  prepared  act 
making  it  unlawful  to  manufacture  or  sell  liquor  in  North 
Carolina  after  the  30th  day  of  June,  1908.  If  this  is  done 
Prohibition  will  be  an  accomplished  fact,  and  a  harmless  issue 
when  the  time  comes  to  nominate  and  elect  candidates  for  the 
■Legislature,  and  this  disturbing  question  can  not  be  injected 
into  politics  in  the  campaign  of  1908. 

"Prohibition  is  now  an  acute  question  in  this  State,  and 
it  can  not  be  silenced  by  anything  short  of  an  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature, which  shall  give  it  a  fair  trial,  and  it  is  likely  to  be- 
come still  more  acute  until  such  an  act  is  passed.  If  the  se- 
lection of  candidates  shall  take  place  in  the  present  disturbed 
and  unsettled  state  of  feeling  on  the  whiskey  question,  it  will 
be  impossible  to  keep  the  prohibition  question  out  of  the 
politics  of  the  State  in  the  coming  campaign,  candidates  will 
he  compelled  to  declare  themselves,  and  no  matter  which  side 
they  take,  the  other  side  will  be  angered,  and  thus  you  have 
the  question  in  politics  whether  you  want  it  or  not. 


•'There  is  another  reason  why  it  is  better  to  have  this 
question  settled  at  once  if  it  can  be  done.  These  whiskey 
elections  tend  to  bring  the  negro  back  into  politics.  When 
we  have  one  of  these  elections,  my  observation  is  that  both 
sides,  with  rare  exception,  get  on  a  brisk  hunt  for  votes.  I 
heard'  that  in  more  than  one  of  these  elections  negroes  have 
been  registered  under  the  'Grandfather  Clause.' 

"Conditions  are  very  different  in  this  State  from  what  they 
were  in  1880  and  1881,  when  the  Legislature  passed  an  act 
submitting  the  question  of  prohibition  to  the  voters  of  the 
State,  but  there  is  danger,  if  this  question  gets  into  politics  in 
1908,  of  bringing  back  the  conditions  of  1882.  There  is  dan- 
ger, in  some  localities  at  least,  if  this  whiskey  question  is  not 
settled  before,  of  having  a  good  deal  of  independent  mixing 
and  trading  in  the  coming  campaign.  If  the  Legislature 
assembles  it  will  be  better  to  wipe  the  whole  thing  out  and 
be  done  with  it.  I  therefore  sincerely  hope  that  if  an  extra 
session  of  the  Legislature  is  called,  it  will  settle  the  'rate 
question'  and  the  'whiskey  question'  before  it  adjourns  by  the 
passage  of  equitable,  enforceable  laws." 


SENATOR  SIMMONS. 

Washington,  D.  C,  January  16. 

Senator  Simmons,  who  lias  been  taking  a  leading  part  in 
the  temperance  campaign  that  began  with  the  enactment  of 
the  Watts  Law,  strongly  favors  the  passage  of  a  State  pro- 
hibitory law  by  the  General  Assembly  at  the  coming  special 
session.  In  an  interview  to-day  the  senior  Senator  takes  a 
position  in  line  with  that  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the* 
Anti-Saloon  League. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  early  in  December,  1902,  Senator 
Simmons  gave  an  interview  to  this  correspondent  in  this  city, 
in  which  he  advocated  the  enactment  of  a  law  by  the  Legisla- 
ture along  lines  which  were  subsequently  embodied  in  the 
Watts  Law.  This  inaugurated  the  -movement  for  the  legisla- 
tion that  subsequently  resulted  and  marked  the  beginning  of 
the  Temperance  campaign  in  North  Carolina. 

Senator  Simmons,  in  bis  interview  to-day,  said: 

"'It  must  be  apparent  to  every  one  that  the  sentiment  in  the 
State  in  favor  of  prohibition  is  so  overwhelming  that  nothing 
can  prevent  the  adoption  of  State  prohibition  as  the  policy  of 


the  State.  This  may  be  accomplished  by  one  of  three  ways : 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  at  the  special  session  which  meets 
next  Tuesday,  or  by  its  submitting  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment to  the  people  to  be  voted  upon  at  the  next  general  elec- 
tion, or  by  an  act  of  the  next  Legislature. 

"Whatever  may  be  the  views  of  some  as  to  the  effectiveness 
of  the  local  option  provision  of  the  Watts  Law  in  bringing 
about  ultimate  prohibition,  it  is  evident  that  a  vast  majority 
of  the  people  are  unwilling  to  await  the  slower  process  of  this 
method,  and  that  we  are  to  have  State  prohibition  in  the  near 
future  by  one  of  the  three  ways  I  have  mentioned  seems -to  be 
certain. 

"1  have  had  some  doubt  as  to  what  the  extra  session  should 
do  with  reference  to  this  matter,  but  after  thorough  and  de- 
liberate cod  side  ration,  it  seems  to  me  that  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, giving  full  consideration  to  the  interest  of  the 
temperance  people,  the  State,  and  the  party,  it  would  be  better 
that  the  special  session  of  the  Legislature  should  take  the  re- 
sponsibility and  pass  a  general  law  prohibiting  the  sale  and 
manufacture  of  liquor  anywhere  in  the  State.  When  the 
mandate  of  the  people  with  reference  to  a  matter  of  State 
policy,  after  mature  deliberation,  is  unmistakable  and  it  is 
evident  that  delay  will  not  change  that  purpose  but  only  re- 
sult in  friction  and  agitation,  it  would  seem  to  be  the  duty 
of  their  representatives  as  well  as  wise  policy,  to  execute  that 
mandate  at  the  first  opportunity.'''' 


HUGH  G.  CHATHAM,  CHAIRMAN  N.  C.  DEMOCRATIC 
EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

<  'hairman  Hugh  G.  Chatham,  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  Demo- 
cratic Executive  Committee,  was  in  the  city  to-day  on  his 
way  to  Baltimore  on  business  for  his  manufacturing  company. 
He  says  that  trade  conditions  have  improved  very  much  with- 
in the  last  two  weeks  and  business  is  looking  up.  When 
asked  about  the  special  session  of  the  Legislature,  called  by 
Governor  R.  B.  Glenn  to  consider  the  railroad  rate  contro- 
versy, he  said  that  he  had  nothing  in  the  way  of  an  interview 
to  give  out.  He  believes  that  the  Legislature  will  give  the 
State  a  prohibition  law,  and  under  the  circumstances  he  ap- 
proves of  this.  He  does  not  believe  that  such  a  course  would 
reduce  the  majority  of  the  party  in  the  State,  as  leading  men 


of  the  Republican  party  favor  it.  He  thinks  that  it  would  be 
a  fortunate  thing-  to  have  the  matter  settled  and  take  it  out  of 
polities. 

NORTH  CAROLINA  ANTI-SALOON  LEAGUE. 

We,  the  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Anti- 
Saloon  League,  after  careful  consideration  and  after  confer- 
ring with  leading  and  various  citizens  of  the  State,  are  of  the 
unanimous  opinion  that  the  special  session  of  the  General 
Assembly  presents  a  fitting  opportunity  of  securing  an  act 
prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  liquor  m  this  State. 
We  believe  a  majority  of  the  people  of  this  State  demand  this 
legislation,  and  the  time  has  come  for  the  enactment  of  the 
same.  With  anything  like  unanimity  among  the  temperance 
people  of  the  State,  we  believe  the  General  Assembly  will  pass 
such  an  act.  Patriotic  men  demand  that  the  whiskey  ques- 
tion shall  be  removed  from  partisan  politics  and  settled  for- 
ever in  the  interest  of  morality. 

We,  therefore,  eall  on  all  friends  of  temperance  to  use  their 
influence  with  the  General  Assembly  and  especially  with  their 
immediate  representatives,  and  urge  them  to  vote  for  prohibi- 
tion, and  we  ask  all  friends  of  temperance  to  attend  a  conven- 
tion to  be  held  in  Raleigh  on  Tuesday,  January  21,  1907. 
The  crystallization  of  public  sentiment  makes  this  the  oppor- 
tunity- of  our  generation  for  settling  for  all  time  this  great 
moral  issue,  and  one  week's  activity  now  may  count  more  now 
than  an  ordinary  lifetime  of  temperance  work.  Let  every 
man  do  his  duty.  John   A.  Oates, 

Chairm,an  Executive  Committee. 
Heriot  Clarkson, 
President  State  Convention. 
P.  L.  Davis, 

State  Ornanizer. 
W.   S.  O'B.  Robinson,  W.  0.  Dorr, lass, 

AV.  TL  Si'tutnt,  J.  A.  Hartness, 

W.  Ik  Cooper.  NT.  P.  Brouohton, 

C1jARENCe  LT.  Poe,  L  C  Peatr, 

J  v  m  iss  T.  Johnson,  T.  N.  Ivey, 

W.  N.  Jones,  Josephus  Daniels, 

James  LT.  Pou,  LT.  A.  London, 

TL  C.  Fennele,  Q.  K.  Nimocks, 

P.  P.  White,  J.  TL.  Tucker. 


APPEAL  FROM  SALISBURY. 

The  following  letter  has  been  sent  to  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature : 

Salisbury,  X.  ('.,  January  16,  1908. 
Anti-Saloon  League  Headquarters — 

Dear  Sir  : — We,  the  undersigned,  officers  and  members 
of  the  Anti-Saloon  League,  Salisbury,  1ST.  C,  and  Steering 
Commtitee  of  said  League,  representing  nearly  four  hundred 
voters  of  Salisbury,  hereby  request  you  to  use  all  your  in- 
fluence with  the  called  si-ssion  of  the  Legislature  in  favor  of  a 
State  prohibition  lav*. 

We  believe  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State 
favor  it  and  expect  it,  that  our  highest  social  and  commercial 
interests  demand  it.  The  handwriting  is  on  the  wall  and  this 
damnable  traffic  is  justly  slated  for  annihilation. 

A  number  of  our  sister  States  have  disposed  of  it  by  pass- 
ing State  laws  prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  liquor 
and  a  long-suffering  public  in  our  own  beloved  State  is  crying 
out  for  the  same  much  needed  relief. 

Our  town  of  Salisbury  is  cue  of  the  strongholds  of  the 
liquor  traffic  distillers,  wholesalers  and  saloon-keepers  hav- 
ing flocked  here  from  many  towns  and  cities  that  have  gone 
dry.  thus  making  our  chances  at  least  uncertain  for  obtaining 
relief  from  this  great  curse  by  means  of  a  local  option  election. 

The  liquor  interests  here  have  become  so  corrupt,  so  dic- 
tatorial and  so  intolerant  that  they  justly  merit  the  wrath  and 
indignation  of  every  fair-minded  citizen;  they  essay  to  control 
and  dominate  our  local  politics  to  such  a  degree  that  they  de- 
clare "no  man  shall  be  elected  to  any  office  in  Rowan  County 
who  is  not  favorable  to  the  liquor  traffic,"  and  they  have  so 
disregarded  every  instinct  of  fairness  as  to  make  our  town  a 
nuisance  to  the  adjoining  dry  counties  and  towns  by  flooding 
their  territory  with  Salisbury  liquor. 

.We  refer  to  the  counties  of  Iredell,  Mecklenburg.  Cabarrus, 
Stanly,  Davidson,  Davie,  Guilford  and  others ;  and  the  towns 
of  Statesville,  Xewton,  Asheville,  Hickory,  Concord,  Char- 
lotte, Albemarle,  Lexington,  Thomasville,  High  Point, 
Greensboro  and  others. 

These  counties  and  towns  are  as  keenly  desirous  of  seeking 
Salisbury  dry  as  Salisbury  Anti-Saloon  people  themselves  are. 
Much  more  could  be  said,  but  we  deem  this  sufficient,  and  beg 
to  thank  you  in  advance  for  your  valuable  help  and  influence. 


6 


If  you  will  vote  and  work  for  State  prohibition  at  the  com- 
ing called  session,  you  will  earn  the  lasting  gratitude  of  your 
fellow  citizens  throughout  the  State,  striking  a  blow  for  pur- 
ity and  righteousness,  save  the  youth  of  our  grand  old  com- 
monwealth from  this  cruel  and  remorseless  foe,  and  honor 
yourself  in  honoring  God  and  ]STorth  Carolina. 

In  the  event  that  State  prohibition  fails,  please  do  all  you 
can  to  put  Rowan  County  in  the  Dry  column. 
We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 
Your  obedient  servants, 

W.  B.  Smoot, 
President  Salisbury  A.  S.  L. 

P.  S.  Carlton, 
Secretary  Salisbury  A.  S.  L. 
T.  PI.   Vanderford, 
President  Steering  Committee,  A.  S.  L. 
B.  Carps, 
Secretary  Steering  Committee,  A.  S.  L. 


MAYOR  T.  S.  FRANKLIN,  CHARLOTTE. 

"It  looks  to  me  like  State  prohibition,"  declared  Mayor 
T.  S.  Franklin,  last  night,  fresh  from  a  trip  to  Raleigh, 
where  he  attended  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons,  and  inci- 
dentally had  a  chat  with  Governor  Glenn.  He  stated  that 
the  prevailing  sentiment  with  which  he  came  in  contact  was 
for  Statewide  prohibition,  as  this  was  practically  the  only 
method  by  which  such  places  as  Salisbury  could  be  freed  from 
the  grasp  of  whiskey.  Governor  Glenn  said  to  Mayor  Frank- 
lin that  if  any  other  question  in  addition  to  the  rate  question 
was  taken  up,  the  prohibition  matter  could  be  handled  now 
with  profit,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  should  be  finally 
disposed  of  by  legislation. 


HON.  THOS.  J.  JARVIS. 

Greenville,  1ST.  C,  January  11,  1908. 
John  A.  Oates,  Esq.,  Fayetteville,  1ST.  C. 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  am  clear  in  my  opinion  that  it  is  better 
for  the  cause  of  prohibition  and  for  the  politics  of  the  State 
that  the  Legislature  at  its  coming  special  session  shall  pass  a 


general  prohibition  law  for  the  whole  State.  I  therefore  hope 
you  will  urge  the  passage  of  such  a  law  and  that  you  will 
bring  the  temperance  forces  of  the  State  to  the  united  effort 
to  secure  such  a  law.  I  hear  a  great  many  men  say  they  are 
opposed  to  local  prohibition  but  that  they  will  gladly  support 
State  prohibition.  These  local  elections  all  go  one  way  but 
they  create  local  friction  and  it  is  better  to  put  an  end  to  the 
liqur  traffic  in  this  State  and  be  done  with  it. 
I  am  truly  yours, 

THOMAS  J.  JARVIS. 


JUDGE  JETER  C.  PRITCHARD. 

In  the  recent  campaign  in  Asheville,  where  the  prohibition 
forces  won  by  a  big  majority,  Judge  Jeter  C.  Pritchard, 
United  States  Circuit  Judge,  spoke  for  prohibition  and  fa- 
vors State  prohibition.  Chairman  Oates  has  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Judge  Pritchard : 

Asheville,  N.  C,  Jan.  9,  1908. 
Mr.  Jno.  A.  Oates,  Fayetteville,  jST.  C. 

My  Dear  Brother  Oates :  I  have  your  esteemed  favor  of 
recent  date  and  in  reply  will  say  that  I  think  that  it  would 
be  the  part  of  wisdom  for  the  Legislature  at  its  special  session 
to  enact  a  prohibition  law  for  the  entire  State. 

The  manufacture  and  sale  of  whiskey  is  the  greatest  evil 
with  which  we  have  had  to  contend  in  the  past  and  there  is 
every  reason  why  the  whiskey  traffic  should  be  suppressed. 
There  is  an  overwhelming  sentiment  throughout  this  section 
of  the  State  in  favor  of  absolute  prohibition.  I  am  heartily 
in  favor  of  Senator  Tillman's  amendment,  feeling,  as  I  do, 
that  we  will  need  the  passage  of  legislation  of  that  kind  in 
order  to  secure  absolute  prohibition  in  territories  where  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  whiskey  is  prohibited.  I  sincerely 
trust  that  our  Representatives  can  see  their  way  clear  to  give 
us  an  unconditional  prohibition  law  before  the  approaching 
special  session  closes  its  work. 

Wishing  you  and  yours  a  happy  and  prosperous  'New  Tear, 
I  am, 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  C.  PRITCHAKD. 


8 


COUNTRY  FOLKS  WANTED  IT  AND  SO  DO  MOST 
TOWN  FOLKS. 

Come  to  think  about  it,  it  will  be  no  worse  to  force  prohibi- 
tion on  the  towns  through  legislative  enactment  than  it  was  to 
force  it  on  the  people  of  the  country. — Durham  Herald. 


HARDLY  A  DOUBT. 

There  is  hardly  a  doubt  but  that  the  Legislature  will  pass 
a  prohibition  law,  but  you  are  going  to  see  a  fight  that  will  be 
more  than  interesting  and  some  things  will  be  remembered. — 
Durham,  Herald. 


ONLY  'A  FEW. 


Prohibition  would  deprive  some  papers  of  lots  of  advertis- 
ing matter.  We  are  glad  that  only  a  few  papers  in  North 
Carolina  carry  liquor  advertisements.- — -ClarMon  Express. 


CHARLOTTE  NEWS  FAVORS  STATE  PROHIBI- 
TION.    ' 

Letters  from  prominent  and  distinguished  men  all  over 
North  Carolina  are  urging  action  at  the  present  Legislature 
to  wipe  out  the  saloons.  Certain  localities  in  North  Carolina 
that  have  saloons  are  a  nuisance  to  other  localities.  Counties 
surrounding  a  whiskey  county  are  being  debauched  by  the 
whiskey  county.  The  question  in  North  Carolina  is :  "Shall 
those  counties  that  have  saloons  debauch  and  destroy  those 
counties  that  have  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  the  saloon  and  drink 
evil  ?  Shall  they  be  colonized  with  those  in  favor  of  the  sa- 
loons and  drink  evil  and  forever  have  the  saloon  to  carry  sor- 
row and  crime  to  the  other  counties  ?  Have  not  those  coun- 
ties where  liquor  is  sold  become  a  nuisance  to  the  surrounding 
counties,  and  do  we  not  owe  protection  to  the  surrounding 
counties  ?"  The  only  way  to  protect  the  counties  where  liquor 
is  not  sold  is  to  wipe  out  by  State  prohibition  the  saloons 
where  liquor  is  sold  at  the  coming  session  of  the  Legislature. 
The  masses  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  and  those  who 
have  felt  the  stiua;  of  the  drink  evil  and  the  saloons  are  de- 


9 


manding  State  legislation.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  The  News  to 
quote  what  Hon.  W.  I.  Everett  ,of  Rockingham,  X.  C,  says. 
He  is  a  man  of  splendid  judgment  and  integrity.  The  whole 
State  loves  and  honors  him.  He  says :  "Our  people  favor 
a  State  prohibition  law  to  he  enacted  by  the  extra  session  of 
the  Legislature.  I  am  in  accord  with  the  movement,"  As 
this  good  man  is  in  favor  of  the  movement,  so  are  the  masses 
of  the  people  of  North  Carolina. 


THE  THREE  STATE  CHAIRMEN. 

Since  1890  there  have  been  three  chairmen  of  the  State 
Democratic  Executive  Committee  of  North  Carolina : 

1.  Senator  Simmons,  who  knows  North  Carolina  east  of 
the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  as  well  as  any  man  who  has  lived  in 
the  State.  He  has  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  would  be 
political  wisdom  for  this  session  of  the  General  Assembly  to 
pass  a  State  prohibition  law. 

2.  Mr.  Tames  IT.  Pou,  who  has  had  long  experience  at  the 
bar  and  in  polities,  and  who  knows  the  conditions  of  Eastern 
and  Central  North  Carolina  as  well  as  any  man  in  the  State. 
He  was  among  the  first  officers  of  the  State  Anti-Saloon 
League  to  state  that  he  believed  the  time  had  come  for  State 
prohibition. 

3.  Mr.  Hugh  G.  Chatham,  now  Chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Executive  Committee,  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that 
the  present  Legislature  will  pass  a  State  prohibition  law  and 
that,  under  the  circumstances,  he  approves  such  action.  He 
thinks  its  passage  by  the  extra  session  would  be  fortunate,  be- 
cause it  would  settle  the  question  and  keep  it  out  of  politics, 
and  that  it  would  work  no  injury  to  the  Democratic  party. 

Of  course  every  Democrat  is  entitled  to  his  opinion,  but 
certainly  the  view  of  the  only  State  Chairmen  who  have  been 
at  the  helm  in  fifteen  years  is  entitled  to  as  much  weight  as 
the  opinion  of  any  other  three  leaders.  When  you  add  to 
that  the  view  of  the  present  Governor  and  oldest  ex-Governor, 
and  men  of  influence  in  other  branches,  those  men  who  think 
State  Prohibition  would  seriously  hurt  the  Democratic  party 
are  putting  their  opinion  against  that  of  the  men  whose  posi- 
tion has  given  them  the  best  right  to  know  what  will  or  will 
not  best  help  the  Democratic  party. — News  and  Observer. 


10 


HIT  IT  SQUARELY  BETWEEN  THE  EYES. 

We  hear  a  good  deal  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  liquor 
question  out  of  politics.  That  is  a  big  undertaking.  We 
don't  think  it  can  be  done.  Let  it  stay  in  politics,  but  let  the 
Democrats  continue  to  do  as  they  have  been  doing  and  give 
Old  Booze  a  blow  squarely  between  the  eyes  at  every  oppor- 
tunity.— Greensboro  Telegram. 


HANDWRITING  ON  THE  WALL. 

If  the  Legislature  fails  to  pass  a  State  prohibition  law 
the  saloon  keepers  of  Rocky  Mount  needn't  take  any  comfort 
from  it ;  there  will  be  a  local  election  soon,  and  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall  is  plain  enough  for  anybody  to  read  and 
understand. — Iiocky  Mount  Record. 


STATE  PROHIBITION. 

There  is  naturally  much  speculation  just  at  this  time  as  to 
what  course  the  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  will  pursue 
when  once  it  has  finally  disposed  of  the  passenger  rate  mat- 
ter, the  specific  purpose  for  which  it  is  convened.  Will  it 
then  adjourn  or  will  it  tackle  other  propositions  of  vital  in- 
terest %  The  question  of  State  prohibition  is  more  than 
likely  to  come  up  for  consideration,  and  if  it  does  a  prohibi- 
tory law  covering  the  whole  State  is  almost  sure  to  be  the  re- 
sult. There  are  those  high  in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic 
party  who  believe  that  the  extra  session  offers  a  most  favor- 
able opportunity  to  dispose  of  the  State  prohibition  problem 
once  and  for  all.  They  are  fully  convinced  that  the  time  is 
ripe  for  such  action  and  they  see  no  need  of  postponing  the 
matter  until  the  next  regular  session.  To  settle  the  ques- 
tion now  would  have  the  effect  of  eliminating  it  from  the 
approaching  State  campaign  and  leave  the  people  free  to  con- 
sider other  important  matters.  Even  the  opponents  of  State 
prohibition  see  that  it  is  bound  to  come  one  way  or  another 
very  soon,  and  have  practically  ceased  to  make  any  consider- 
able organized  fight  against  it.  In  other  words,  since  they 
see  that  it  is  undoubtedly  coming  in  the  near  future,  they 
are  not  very  much  concerned  as  to  just  how  it  comes. — Wax- 
haw  Enterprise. 


11 


A  whiskey  seller  with  his  place  of  business  running,  is  a 
power  in  politics — and  usually  had  politics.  A  saloon  man 
with  his  business  knocked  out  has  no  more  political  influence 
than  a  last  year's  bird's  nest. 


Nearly  all  the  cotton  mi}l  people  and  other  men  in  indus- 
trial lines  are  in  favor  of  prohibition.  It  has  come  to  be 
an  industrial  as  well  as  a  moral  question. 


The  Selma  News,  closing  a  long  editorial  favoring  the 
enactment  of  State  prohibition,  says : 

UA  further  reason  why  the  extra  session  should  pass  State 
prohibition  is  that  if  the  matter  is  left  open  for  a  general 
election,  the  whiskey  dealers  from  all  over  the  United  States 
will  flood  the  State  with  money  to  bribe  and  buy  the  voters. 
Waiting  till  then  would  be  an  open  challenge  to  them  to  come 
with  their  money  and  bribes  to  corrupt  the  election. 

"The  safe  thing  to  do  is  to  wipe  the.  sale  of  liquor  out  of 
the  State  at  this  session  and  have  clear  sailing  in  the  future. 
Let  the  representatives  speak !  The  people  wish  to  hear  their 
voice.  This  is  a  moral  question — the  most  vital  considered 
in  the  State  in  a  half  century — on  which  the  Democratic 
party  of  North  Carolina  is  to  stand  or  fall.  Shall  there  be 
a  compromise  ?  Heaven  forbid  !  Shall  the  Legislature  ig- 
nore this  vital  issue  ?     Let  the  representatives  speak  !" 


A  FOREGONE  CONCLUSION. 

From  what  we  can  learn  the  sentiment  in  North  Carolina 
on  the  question  of  State  prohibition  at  the  extra  session  is 
divided.  A  large  number  of  Democrats,  who  favor  prohibi- 
tion believe  that  it  would  be  best  for  the  party  if  only  the 
rate  bill  was  attended  to  at  this  session  and  leave  the  matter 
of  prohibition  to  the  next  regular  session,  while  others  con- 
tend that  it  would  be  best  to  settle  the  matter  right  now,  and 
save  the  trouble  and  hard  feeling  that  is  always  brought  about 
in  a  campaign  of  that  kind.  It  is  a  foregone  conclusion  with 
nearly  every  one  that  prohibition  is  surely  coming,  if  not  at 
this  session,  at  the  next  one. 


12 


PROHIBITION  IS  COMING. 

Whether  the  special  session  of  the  Legislature  gives  us 
prohibition  or  not,  it  is  coming,  and  the  liquor  men  may  as 
well  shape  their  plans  accordingly.  Those  communities  that 
think  they  want  liquor  will  have  to  do  without  it  or  join  the 
blind  tigers. — Charity  and  Children. 


BAPTIST  STATE  CONVENTION. 

The  following  is  the  report  on  Temperance  adopted  by 
the  Baptist  State  Convention  without  a  dissenting  voice  or 
vote : 

"We  wish  again  to  declare  our  uncompromising  hostility 
to  the  liquor  traffic  as  the  great  enemy  of  the  peace  and  good 
morals  of  the  people,  the  well  being  of  the  home  and  the  work 
of  the  Gospel  among  men.  We  congratulate  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  on  the  splendid  progress  made  in  temperance 
in  the  last  ten  years,  and  on  the  rising  tide  at  this  time  to 
drive  the  traffic  out  of  the  State. 

"We  extend  our  encouragement  to  the  people  now  engaged 
in  their  efforts  to  vote  the  traffic  out  of  the  several  cities  and 
towns  in  the  State  where  it  is  now  being  carried  on,  and  to 
the  Anti-Saloon  League  in  its  work. 

"Believing  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors  to  be  inher- 
ently wrong,  we  emphatically  declare  ourselves  in  favor  of  the 
principle  of  State  prohibition. 

"Further:  We  favor  the  enactment  of  such  laws  by  the 
Congress  as  shall  prohibit  the  shipment,  for  purposes  of  traf- 
fic, by  inter-state  carriers,  of  intoxicating  liquors  into  pro- 
hibited territory. 

"We  urge  upon  our  people  to  continue  the  great  campaign 
of  education  and  law  enforcement  against  the  sale  and  use 
of  intoxicating  liquors  until  this  great  curse  shall  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum  in  our  State." 


THE  METHODIST  CHURCH  ON  PROHIBITION. 

We  stand  against  the  sale  and  manufacture  of  alcoholic 
liquors  anywhere  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina  and  for 
State  prohibition.  We  most  earnestly  hope  that  our  law- 
makers will  procure  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as  will  fully 


13 


protect  us  against  the  importation  into  prohibitory  territory 
of  any  alcoholic  stimulants  from  points  without  as  well  as 
within  the  State. — North  Carolina  Annual  Conference. 


.  It  seems  now  that  the  passage  of  a  prohibition  bill  for  the 
whole  State  is  inevitable.  Everything  being  equal,  we  would 
not  ap2>rove  of  any  other  action  at  the  extra  session  than 
for  which  it  was  sjjecifically  called.  But  things  are  not  equal. 
We  face  a  situation  which  shows  that  a  majority  of  the  citi- 
zens of  the  State  favor  State  prohibition,  while  here  and  there 
in  the  State  are  places  where  liquor  is  intrenched  and  will 
be  intrenched  for  a  long  time.  This  in  itself  is  not  the  com- 
pelling factor.  It  is  the  fact  that  these  same  places  are  able 
to  debauch  as  far  as  the  sale  of  liquor  is  concerned  the  whole 
State.  Take  Raleigh,  for  instance.  Raleigh  is  a  prohibition 
city,  yet  there  is  a  little  place  called  Pine  Level  on  the  South- 
ern Railroad,  between  Selma  and  Goldsboro,  which  is  now 
supplying  liquor  to  Raleigh  in  large  quantities.  Nothing 
but  State  prohibition  can  reach  such  a  place  as  Pine  Level. 

The  eyes  of  the  whole  State  will  be  turned  on  the  extra 
session.  Important  interests  are  at  stake.  May  the  wisest 
counsels  prevail  in  order  that  there  may  be  the  wisest  and 
best  outcome. — Raleigh  Christian  Advocate. 


When  a  man  can  not  get  an  office  without  being  a  prohi- 
bitionist there  is  no  guessing  as  to  where  the  politicians  will 
be. 


"Remove  the  cause  and  you  lessen  crime,"  was  one  of  the 
remarks  of  Judge  W.  R.  Allen  to  the  Pitt  County  grand  jury. 
If  the  special  Legislature  enacts  State  prohibition  the  leading 
cause  of  crime  will  be  removed. — Greenville  Reflector. 


The  Wilmington  Messenger  and  The  Morning  Star  daily 
attack  m'ohibition  anticipated  in  their  city  upon  the  argu- 
ment that  "prohibition  does  not  prohibit."  Pass  a  State 
Prohibition  law  at  the  extra  session,  encourage  the  whole 
South  thus  to  follow  suit,  bring  all  the  pressure  pos- 
sible to  bear  on  Congress  to  pass  an  inter-state  anti-jug  law 


14 


and  then  The  Wilmington  Messenger  and  The  Morning 
Star  will  favor  prohibition  because  prohibition  will  pro- 
hibit as  much  as  any  other  State  law  prohibits  violation 
of  that  law,  and  its  argument  will  be  answered  and  the  Mes- 
senger and  the  Star  silenced.  Prohibition  legislation  will 
do  Wilmington  and  this  section  of  North  Carolina  and  South 
Carolina,  which  is  drenched  with  Wilmington's 'mean  liquor, 
more  good  than  any  single  law  the  extra  session  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  can  pass  and  none  know  it  better  than  The 
Wilmington  Messenger  and  The  Morning  Star,  notwith- 
standing their  much  speaking  to  the  contrary. — Duplin 
Journal. 


FROM  J.  W.  LONG,  M.  D. 

"What  do  you  think  of  the  action  of  the  Anti-Saloon 
League  ?"  was  asked  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Long,  a  prominent  surgeon 
of  Greensboro,  who  is  in  Raleigh  attending  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Masons.     Dr.  Long  said : 

1.  ''Prohibition  is  right  in  principle. 

2.  'Tn  practice  it  is  beneficial  always. 

3.  "Anything  else — saloon,  dispensary,  distillery — is  a 
curse,  debauches  the  citizenship  and  pollutes  the  body  politic. 
Under  this  rule  'the  people  mourn.' 

4.  "The  function  of  the  State  Legislature  is  primarily  to 
( uact  laws. 

5.  "It  would  be  neglectful  of  its  highest  duty  if  it  failed  to 
enact  such  laws  as  would  protect  society  against  the  de- 
structive effects  of  any  great  evil.  The  liquor  traffic  is  the 
must  monstrous  evil  in  the  land,  'the  gigantic  crime  of  crimes' 
of  modern  times. 

<».  "The  people  are  driving  it  (the  liquor  traffic)  from 
every  nook  and  corner  of.  the  State.  Will  the  Legislature 
hear  'Rachel  weeping  for  her  children'  and  strike  the  final 
blow  ? 

7.  "Only  the  politician  has  his  ear  to  the  ground  and  asks, 
'Is  it  expedient?'  The  Christian  men  and  women  of  North 
Carolina  are  clamoring  for  the  absolute  and  immediate  de- 
struction and  annihilation  of  the  hvdra-hoadod  monster." 


15 


The  Legislature  will  meet  in  called  session  next  Tuesday. 
Aside  from  the  specific  purpose  for  which  it  is  called  it  now 
seems  most  likely  that  it  will  do  something  with  the  liquor 
business.  There  is  a  wide  and  strong  sentiment  for  the  pas- 
sage of  a  State  prohibition  measure  and  it  is  being  urged 
by  some  of  the  State's  most  prominent  citizens. — The  Ala- 
mance Gleaner. 


STATE  PROHIBITION. 

The  temperance  forces  of  the  State  are  united  on  the  ques- 
tion of  State  prohibition,  and  it  begins  to  look  very  much 
like  the  extra  session  of  the  Legislature,  which  convenes  next 
week,  will  pass  a  sweeping  State  prohibition  law.  The  Exec- 
utive Committee  of  the  North  Carolina  Anti-Saloon  League 
met  in  Raleigh  Tuesday  of  this  week,  and  after  fully  and 
carefully  considering  the  matter  issued  an  appeal  to  the  forth- 
coming extra  session  to  pass  a  prohibition  law.  We  were  of 
the  opinion  that  a  statutory  law  at  this  time  would  not  be 
expedient  from  several  standpoints,  but  now  that  this  action 
has  been  taken,  backed  by  the  temperance  forces  of  the  State, 
and  supported  by  such  men  as  ex-Governor  Larvis,  Judge  J. 
C.  Pritchard  and  others,  we  say,  let's  have  it. — The  Mt.  Olive 
Tribune. 


